Six takeaways from the Iowa Republican debate

The 7th Republican debate was the first without front-runner Donald Trump. The other candidates took advantage of his absence to try and sway voters ahead of the caucuses.
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DES MOINES — No, he didn't show up, but the rest of the Republican presidential field debated anyway. Here are six takeaways from the final GOP debate before the Iowa caucuses on Monday.

Ted Cruz is seen on television screens as reporters cover the Republican debate on Jan. 28, 2016, in Des Moines.(Photo: Joe Raedle, Getty Images)

'Elephant not in the room' largely unmentioned

The days leading up to the debate were consumed by whether Donald Trump would hold true to his word and boycott Thursday night's debate over his complaints about treatment by Megyn Kelly and Fox News, which hosted the event. Well, he did, but that didn't mean he wasn't the focus of the first question from Kelly to Ted Cruz.

She asked Cruz what message he thought it sent to Iowans that Trump — the "elephant not in the room," Kelly called him — skipped the forum to hold a separate event.

Cruz scored some laughs as he mock-insulted some of the other candidates, but focused his answer on praising Iowans, adding that he hadn't personally insulted Trump. Marco Rubio called Trump "the greatest show on earth" but said the campaign wasn't about him. Jeb Bush had some fun with his nemesis Trump, joking how he missed him being there since the two had such "a loving relationship" in previous debates.

But that was largely it. The six previous debates had been defined by either Trump's presence on the stage or answers by the other candidates about his statements or tactics. This one wasn't, which at least gave the seven candidates on stage an opportunity to define themselves in a Trump-free environment. But whether that actually moves the needle for any of them now that the debate is over remains a very open question.

Marco Rubio makes a point during the Republican primary debate on Jan. 28, 2016, in Des Moines.(Photo: Chris Carlson, AP)

Rubio knows his audience

The Iowa Republican caucuses have long been known for the role evangelicals play in boosting their favored candidates — notably Mike Huckabee in 2008 and Rick Santorum in 2012. This year, a few candidates have been vying for their support. Ben Carson was an early favorite but has slipped. Cruz has picked up evangelical support, and then, of course, there's Trump. But Rubio, who's third in most Iowa polls, isn't ceding evangelical support to anyone.

He talked repeatedly about his faith. For example, when he was asked about magazine cover that referred to him as "the Republican savior," he dismissed that phrase quickly. "Let me be clear about one thing, there's only one savior and it's not me. It's Jesus Christ who came down to earth and died for our sins."

It called to mind another Des Moines debate moment from a Republican presidential candidate. Sixteen years ago, then-Texas governor George W. Bush was asked to name his favorite philosopher. "Christ, because he changed my heart," Bush said in a moment that's been credited with helping lift him to victory in the 2000 Iowa caucuses.

Jeb gets his jab back

Without Trump on stage, Bush seemed to be more at ease. In describing his immigration plan he joked, "I wrote a book about this called Immigration Wars. You can get it at $2.99 on Amazon. It's not a bestseller. I can promise you." He seemed to get the better of Rubio in an exchange over which of them had changed their views on immigration.

"That's the book where you changed your position on immigration because you used to support a path to citizenship," Rubio interjected.

"So did you," Bush fired back, but then "you cut and run."

He also scored a great social media moment in response to a question from a YouTube celebrity named Dulce Candy, a Mexican immigrant and entrepreneur. "Dulce Candy — a pretty cool name, actually," he said with a smile.

We're running against Hillary

Without Trump on stage, the biggest boogieman in the debate was Hillary Clinton.

Chris Christie repeatedly turned his fire on Clinton, saying she is " not qualified to be President of the United States," and promised "The days for the Clintons in public housing are over."

Rubio said "one of her first acts as president may very well be to pardon herself" over the email scandal that has entangled her campaign for months.

And asked by the moderators whether Clinton should be considered accountable for her husband's sexual relations with an intern, Rand Paul said, "she can't be a champion of women's rights at the same time she's got this, that is always lurking out there, this type of behavior."

The Republicans seemed to have little faith that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders would overtake Clinton, despite being neck-and-neck with her in Iowa polls and leading in New Hampshire. He came up only long enough for Rubio to say "Bernie Sanders is a socialist. I think Bernie Sanders is good candidate for president of Sweden."

Thanks for the memories?

Some might call them closing arguments, but for Rick Santorum, it seemed more like a farewell address.

"I just want to thank the people of Iowa," the 2012 Iowa GOP winner said in his closing statement. "Over the last five years I've done 700 speeches and town hall meetings all throughout the state of Iowa, and it has been an incredible right," he continued. He thanked supporters who'd helped him over the years. And indeed, the state had been good to him. He went from a former senator who was an afterthought in the 2012 polls to the runner-up to Mitt Romney.

But this campaign is different, to say the least, and for him and Huckabee, who both rode evangelical support to big caucus wins and national profiles, this felt like it might be the end of the road as national candidates. And if nothing else, they won't be on the undercard debate stage again — Thursday night marked the end of that unique 2016 invention.

Trump still plays large

While Trump was not a major topic of conversation on the debate stage, he still sucked up a vast portion of the news cycle. His rally across town was packed, with crowds turned away at the door because it was over-ticketed. He took no nasty questions from anybody, and several networks aired his remarks live while the other candidates were still debating. Google says Trump was the most-searched candidate before and after the debate. And, according to Twitter, the most retweeted message of the night was Trump's claim that he had raised $6 million for veterans.

An unbelievable night in Iowa with our great Veterans! We raised $6,000,000.00 while the politicians talked! #GOPDebate